Amy's Daejeon Days: Christmas in Korea

Christmas is a national holiday in Korea, however it's celebrated very differently than in the west. Most people do not decorate their homes. Many stores and coffee shops do put up some lights and decorations, but it's more of a winter wonderland theme. There isn't really any Christmas spirit here. No peppermint mochas or Christmas cookies. No Christmas music playing in stores or colorful lights strung up. Christmas is not a family event here, rather it's a date night for all the couples, and for New Year's a lot of people spend time with their family. It feels like Christmas and New Year's are the reverse of what happens in the west. Christmas eve and Christmas day are like Korea's version of prom night. Young people are scrambling to find a date for those two days. Most places are open on Christmas in order to accommodate all the couples that are out and about, whereas on New Year's day most places are closed. If you don't have a date for Christmas, then you tell people you're spending the day with Kevin ('Home Alone' marathon on TV Christmas day).

Lotte Department Store

"Snow" falling on a Christmas tree in a coffee shop.

My apartment owners set up a Christmas tree in the stairway, so it was nice seeing it every day when I came home.

It snowed Christmas week. It was very pretty.

Coffee shops don't serve the seasonal flavors that I loved when in the states. My mom was kind enough to send me some pumpkin spice coffee mix that I could enjoy when it was cold outside.

Goodies from home. Yay for Christmas packages!

My friend Krista came for a visit a couple of weeks before Christmas, so we decided to celebrate an early Christmas together. We started the day off with The Hobbit!!! It was such a good movie. What's nice is that the theaters here show the movies in English with Korean subtitles, so it's almost like being back in the states. What I do like better about these theaters is that when you buy your tickets, you pick your seats. It's nice going into a theater and not having to worry about finding a seat, sitting separately or having to sit in the front row. It's interesting here seeing what movies are popular. When we watched Iron Man, the theater was packed. We watched The Hobbit two days after it came out, and the theater was half empty. Sacrilege!

For dinner we went to a Mexican restaurant, called Takorea Mexican Grill in Daeheung-dong. It's located in a big shopping district in Daejeon. The food was so good!!! The owners are from Mexico, so it was authentic Mexican food, and not Korean-Mexican fusion food. The owners make all of their food from scratch (including their tortillas and sauces), as you can't find any of these foods in the Korean stores.

Enchiladas with salsa verde (green sauce)

Chicken chimichanga

The owners had made some flan and gave some to us for free! They actually don't have any dessert on the menu, but they sometimes make it for special events and for people they know (they know me!). Takorea hosts a weekly get together (Wednesday at 7pm) of people in Daejeon who speak Spanish or are learning Spanish. I've gone a few times and it's been really nice being able spend time with people who speak Spanish and appreciate good Mexican food.

Yummy flan!

After dinner, Krista and I went to see The Nutcracker Suite at the Daejeon Culture & Arts Center.

Excited and finally feeling like it's Christmastime.

It was a fabulous ballet performance, and we had amazing seats. Krista and I had silly grins on our faces the whole time.

I made Christmas cards for my kids at school...70+. Next time I'm picking an easier design that takes less time...and no glitter. I'm still finding glitter all over the place.